HOUSING

Some perspective

But the past two years have just been unprecedented, said Hayes, who’s sold houses in the area since 1994. Fifteen years ago, mortgage rates were in the 6% to 7% range, and back in the 1980s, they were double digits, with 30-year xed rate loans averaging 18.63% in 1981, according to Freddie Mac historical data.

Still, Mesa County is a relatively hot e Colorado Department of Human Services estimates an average reduction of $90 per person each month.

Saturdays they serve up to 3,000 people. Of those served, about 35 to 40% are Douglas County residents according to Heistand.

“So it’s a pretty hefty drop o happening, at the same time we are seeing kind of these record highs in grocery prices,” said Brie Dilley, director of philanthropy at SECORCares. “Along with all of the economic instability that we’re seeing across all of the di erent socioeconomic statuses. It feels a little bit like the straw that’s gonna break the camel’s back.” e increase in grocery prices will a ect the amount of resources these types of organizations re- market. e number of houses for sale in the area in and around Grand Junction has doubled in the past year to 456, compared with inventory of 1,816 homes in 2016, according to CAR. Over time, she said, buyers adjust to higher rates and higher prices if that’s where the market goes.

Not only will the reduction in bene t amounts impact residents, it will also impact organizations like SECORCares that serve the community.

“People will have more babies (and) that will encourage people to think about doing other things,” Hayes said. “Life will start happening where it’s, ‘Well, I don’t like the interest rate, but, you know, a twobedroom house with four kids isn’t going to work anymore.’” ceive. About 30 to 40% of the food that SECORCares passes out depends on donations they receive from grocery stores and partners.

SECORCares grocery rescue program includes items such as cans of beans, vegetables and rice.

“What happens is our guests then don’t have the ability to pick up the kind of food that they normally get,” said Heistand. “So it’s compounded by the fact that we no longer have a lot of pre-rescue food coming in, in order to give our hosts and their guests the amount of food they need.”

In addition to SECORCares, Douglas County provides various food, medical and nancial assistance programs.

Rochelle Schlortt of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado said there is not just one program that can o set the reduction of SNAP bene ts.

“It will require a re-examination of a family’s entire budget,” said

Ask anyone in the real estate industry and they’ll tell you buying a house is a long-term investment. Values go up overtime even after slumps during downturns.

“At no time in recorded history have prices, generally speaking, decreased,” said Leprino, pointing to the price dips of 2008, the early 1990s and other recessions. For the most part, the price of a house today is much higher than it’s ever been. Higher prices, multiple o ers still exist

But every market is di erent. Places like Pagosa Springs are dealing with

Schlortt. “Looking at where income can be increased, where expenses can be reduced, how families can change meal planning to lower meal costs, tapping into monthly supplemental programs, shopping pantries, couponing and taking advantage of grocery sales.”

Heistand said there has already been a trend developing in the number of people coming in for assistance.

“I don’t think we know for sure what kind of impact we’re going to see,” said Heistand. “And if that trend stays like it is and then we add on top of this, this reduction in the amount of money that folks are going to have for groceries, it could be critical very quick.” e Colorado Department of Human Services provides tips for families to make the transition. Tips include rolling over unused SNAP bene ts to the next month and stock up on non-perishable items. a scarcity of houses below their median sales price, which increased a whopping 33% to $520,000 in January. Local Realtor Wen Saunders said the lower-priced homes below the $400,000 range “were gobbled up with low interest rates and cash buyers,” and many who were buying a second home.

“ e bread and butter for Pagosa was always somewhere in the $300,000s. at was a beautiful thing. In 2021, we sold 105 and in 2022, we sold 56. Why? Because we didn’t have

1-877-328-1512 any more,” said Saunders, who’s been a Realtor in Pagosa for 14 years.

Meanwhile, the million-dollar homes went the other direction. Back in 2017, she said Pagosa had a ve-year inventory of million-dollar homes and only about ve sold in a year.

“In 2021, we sold 48 homes that were in the million-dollar price point. And then there were another 11 that were in the $2 million range,” she said. “ e number of sales will drop, but I just don’t see the prices dropping.” e data from the Northern Colorado multiple listing service recorded the city’s median price in January at $549,999, up about $11,000 from a year ago. In Larimer County, median sale prices increased 6.4% to $570,000, according to CAR data. Inventory has nearly doubled in a year, but it’s only taking two weeks longer to get a house sold in the county.

In Fort Collins, the median sales price in January was also higher than a year ago. ere are still multiple offers going on, said Chris Hardy at Elevations Real Estate in Old Town Fort Collins. For one of his fellow agents, 8 out of 10 sales in January involved multiple o ers.

“It wasn’t like it was back in April or May when there were 15, 20 and 30 o ers on any home that came on the market. But there were at least two or more o ers on these homes,” Hardy said.

But Hardy added a caveat to the higher prices. Houses aren’t necessarily getting their full list price, especially those on the market since November. ose have likely reduced their price. And competition among buyers doesn’t mean houses are selling above the asking price.

“Last summer, you couldn’t buy anything inside the city limits of Fort Collins for under $500,000,” Hardy said. “ ere wasn’t anything and now that’s changed a little bit and so there are some homes in the mid-fours that get snapped up relatively quickly. In those highly desirable price points, there’s still quite a bit of activity.”

A busier spring?

Since the fourth quarter, the number of people hoping to get pre-quali ed for a mortgage has increased 50%-60%, said Shawn Ostho , president of Bank of Colorado, which has branches all over the state and is headquartered in Fort Collins. ere are seasonal reasons for the uptick in this quarter and the overall number of loans is still lower than a year ago.

“I think many people have come to the realization that we’re at kind of a new normal for mortgage rates and therefore they’re choosing to proceed with a home,” Ostho said. “We’ll see how strong the demand is this spring, but historically springtime has been a time when people are out looking for a new home and upgrading their house. We expect more activity this spring than we’ve seen in the last six months.”

Prospective buyers are not just gearing up to hunt for a house again; more seem to be opting for a di erent

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